Don't You Cry By Mary Kubica

This is Kubica's third mystery thriller. In downtown Chicago, Quinn is woken at 6:30am by her flatmate's alarm, but Esther is nowhere to be found. It is only after about 24 hours that Quinn starts to get really worried. Meanwhile, 18-year-old Alex is working as a busboy at a small town diner, having turned down a college scholarship to take care of his alcoholic father.

The chapters switch between Quinn and Alex. It is not until the last 40 pages that the author reveals what has happened to Esther and how it connects to Alex.

I really enjoyed the book. I thought I knew what the big reveal was going to be but I was way off the mark. Both Alex and Quinn are multi-dimensional characters; neither being particularly likeable, but they grew on me. This is the first book I've read by the author but based on reviews Kubica is getting better with each book.

Truly Madly Guilty by Liane Moriarty

Erika and her husband Oliver are both a little odd. Cellist Clementine, Erika's best friend since childhood, and Clementine's husband Sam, endure rather than enjoy Erika and Oliver's company.

Erika and Oliver's neighbours, Vid and Tiffany, are both extroverts and have little in common with them. However, Vid and Tiffany met Clementine and Sam at a Christmas party, and really enjoyed their company. When Erika mentions to Vid that Clementine, Sam, and their two girls are coming over for afternoon tea, Vid suggests they all join him and his family for a barbecue.

The story revolves around the barbecue; the chapters switch from the present day (two months after the barbecue) to the day of the barbecue. Something dreadful happened that has left Erika with memory loss and Clementine and Sam struggling to keep their marriage together.

It takes 300 pages to find out what happened at the barbecue. There are a couple of other 'reveals' in the last 200 pages but nothing particularly surprising. The beauty of the book is not so much a clever plot but the building of the characters. Moriarty expertly paints a picture of ordinary people who may at first seem unappealing but who are, on the whole, doing their best under the circumstances.

The book explores themes of friendship, marriage and how life changes after parenthood. Erika and Clementine's friendship, Sam and Clementine's marriage, and Erika's relationship with her mother, all reveal how feelings of love and hate are sometimes hard to separate.